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SOCHI, Russia — Western criticism of Russia’s Winter Olympics is reminiscent of Cold War
ambitions to hold the Soviet Union back, President Vladimir Putin said yesterday, despite signs
that the world was warming to the most-expensive games.

The buildup to the Olympics in Sochi on the Black Sea coast was overshadowed by threats of
Islamist militant violence, an international outcry over a contentious “anti-gay propaganda” law
and allegations of corruption and waste.

As the third full day of competition drew to a close, that hostility had begun to melt away, and
the thrills and spills on snow and ice — and a hugely popular Russian gold in team figure skating
on Sunday — began to win over critics.

The excitement did not stop Putin from taking a swipe at his detractors.

“Back in Cold War times, the theory of containment was created,” he said in Sochi.

“This theory and its practice were aimed at restraining the development of the Soviet Union. …
What we see now are echoes of this containment theory.”

Putin also said the Olympics were playing a positive role in relations between Russia and its
2008 war foe, Georgia, emphasizing that flights between Sochi and the Georgian capital, Tbilisi,
should continue after the games.